To You, From Me
by takaondo
Summary: No one likes to be alone on Christmas Eve, but it's better to feel lonely than to feel as though you didn't matter at all. IchiRuki


**Disclaimer:** BLEACH belongs to Kubo Tite and Shiueisha Publishings.

**Author's Note: **Just a rushed one-shot for the holidays. May contain errors of all sorts. Merry Christmas.

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_"These days without you, without thought, without feeling."_

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><p><strong><em>To You, From Me<em>**

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><p>.<p>

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It was the night of Christmas Eve and the small town of Karakura was lit up by bright decorations that hung at every building. From comical Santa displays to simple wreaths and pine trees, the holiday spirit was thick in the air, and it was so intoxicating that it looked as though everyone in town had been affected with Christmas cheer.

Well, all except for one person.

Kurosaki Ichigo's scowl was set deep upon his face as he trudged sullenly through the freshly shoveled path that cut through Karakura Park. The park itself was all but empty this late at night; it was as though he had come here to get away from everything. Wearing a blue winter coat with thin black gloves, he seemed unaffected by the cold weather even though the air froze with each breath he took.

He slowly made his way to a bench that lay at the heart of the park and decided to sit down. He sighed as he leaned back comfortably against the wooden planks. Alone and without distractions, Ichigo quickly closed his eyes as he fell into his own thoughts.

_Ichigo sat down at his desk, throwing his bag onto the tabletop without a care. He waited patiently for class to start as his classmates were slowly filing in one by one. Noticing that some of them had brought presents, he watched quietly as gifts were exchanged between people. It was still a bit early for Christmas, but break from school was about to start in a couple of days. _

"_So, what did you get Kuchiki-san?" A voice asked. _

_Ichigo's eyes lit up, and turned to the owner of the voice. Kojima Mizuiro happily greeted him with a wave, but Ichigo only returned it with a scowl. _

_Mizuiro's face lit up with confusion. "What's wrong?"_

"_It's just that everyone has been asking me that recently." Ichigo said with irritation. He looked away and scratched the back of his head. "I don't see what's so interesting about it."_

"_Well, she's important to you, isn't she?" Mizuiro said bluntly. Ichigo's eyes widened at the statement. "That's why it's so interesting."_

_Ichigo turned back to his friend and glared at him for a few moments. "You're shameless, you know that, Mizuiro?"_

_Mizuiro gave him the look of fake innocence, a look, Ichigo knew, that had been honed to the pinnacle of perfection from his interactions with older women. _

"_I don't know what you're talking about." He said with a smile._

_Ichigo only sighed._

The memory faded away and Ichigo opened his eyes. He slowly looked down to a small lump in his pocket. He placed his hand into it and pulled out a small wrapped present. It was a small box that was wrapped with red wrapping paper, and was tied together with a spotted green ribbon that formed a simple bow atop of it. A nametag hung loosely from the bow, though the name on it was indiscernible.

He stared the present impassively as his mouth wore into a thin line.

_Sitting at his desk in class, Ichigo had propped his head in one hand as he stared at the present in the other. The name tag that was attached to it swayed back and forth as his fingers shifted the box in his hand. He seemed lost in his own thoughts as he continued to stare at it. _

"_Rukia-chan still hasn't come back yet?" A voice said, snapping him out of his daze._

_Ichigo quickly hid the present away in his pocket before it could be seen, and turned to the person who had interrupted his thoughts. Much to his annoyance, Asano Keigo walked up to his desk with a look of curiosity. _

"_No, she hasn't." Ichigo replied flatly._

_Keigo sighed, and shrugged with disappointment. "I guess that makes sense. I didn't think they celebrated Christmas in Soul Society, or whatever that place is. I guess she won't be back for Christmas then."_

_Ichigo turned towards the window as a deep frown etched itself onto his face. Keigo seemed surprised by his overly cold attitude._

_He looked at Ichigo with slight concern. "Are you alright?"_

"_Of course I am!" Ichigo replied loudly, a little harsher than he had meant to._

_Keigo seemed unconvinced as Ichigo turned back to the window, and sighed as he walked to his desk. Left alone, Ichigo's eyes fell as he watched the snow fall outside his window. _

"_Of course I am..." He muttered quietly to himself._

Ichigo frowned lightly at the memory and his fingers lightly clenched the present out of frustration. The little box shook, and the tag flipped over to reveal the name of who the present was meant for.

'ルキア'

A single white snowflake caught Ichigo's eye and he slowly looked up towards the sky to where more snow had slowly started to fall. They littered the dark night, and it was as though stars themselves were falling from the sky.

And as he looked up, Keigo's words echoed once more in his mind.

"_I guess that makes sense. I didn't think they celebrated Christmas in Soul Society, or whatever that place is. I guess she won't be back for Christmas then."_

'That's right.' Ichigo thought to himself as he continued to stare at the falling snow. 'This isn't her world, so there isn't any reason for her to be here. Christmas probably doesn't even mean anything to her. So perhaps...'

His features softened.

'It was naive of me to think that I would be any different...'

"Ichigo." A voice suddenly called out to him. Ichigo's eyes widened at the familiar voice and slowly turned.

Rukia was there, standing just a few feet away from where he sat. She was in her Gigai, and was dressed in her casual winter clothes. The pale colored winter coat covered her warmly along with the long pink skirt she wore. Her white gloved hand pulled at the long pink scarf that was wrapped around her neck, loosening it to make it more comfortable.

"Rukia..." Ichigo muttered with surprise.

He stared at her like a deer caught in the headlights, and when he finally came back to his senses, he realized he was still holding onto her present. Cursing under his breath, he quickly fumbled around as he attempted to put her present back into his pocket before she could notice.

Rukia watched and blinked with confusion before frowning at him. "What's with that stupid expression on your face?"

Ichigo scowled, both at her comment and his moment of weakness.

"What are you doing here?" He asked rudely.

"That's my line." Rukia said sternly as she crossed her arms. Her eyebrows furrowed. "What are you doing out here alone?"

"Nothing really." Ichigo replied curtly as he looked away.

"Is that so?" She added, though she seemed dissatisfied with his answer.

Rukia made her way over to the bench and took a seat a few inches away from him. She huffed lightly as she sat down, and quietly observed Ichigo from the corner of her eyes. He was acting as though she didn't even exist. She frowned at his behavior, unable to understand why he was acting so distant. Her eyes were quickly drawn to the lump in his pocket and she was surprised to find her name written on the tag.

"Ah, that is..." Rukia said as she quickly reached for it.

Ichigo's head snapped back to her, but he wasn't quick enough to stop her from taking her present out of his pocket. He was about to say something, but suddenly stopped when he saw the expression on her face. Rukia's eyes were bright with curiosity as she stared at present within her hands. He was surprised; any intention he had of taking the present back from her quickly fizzled away at the sight.

"For me?" Rukia asked with surprise as she looked at him.

Feeling uncomfortable under her inquisitive gaze, Ichigo scratched the back of his head and turned away.

"Ah." He replied.

She turned back to her present and her expression deadpanned. "It's kind of small, don't you think?"

"Hey..." Ichigo muttered as he scowled at her.

Rukia chuckled at his reaction.

"Thank you, Ichigo." She added quietly with a soft smile.

Ichigo's eyes lit up at her tone. Having known her for so long, he could tell when she was troubled, even though she hid it so well from the others. He noticed the way her hands clutched uneasily at the present, the way her face had fallen, and the smallest hint of sadness that was reflected in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

She seemed surprised his perceptiveness, but quickly shook it off. Her face softened and she lowered her gaze.

"Sorry, Ichigo." She said quietly.

"Why are you apologizing?" Ichigo asked.

"It might be silly of me to say this, but ever since I had heard about this Christmas thing, I had spent most of the last few weeks trying to find something to get you." Rukia explained. "I had gotten so caught up in that task that I nearly missed coming back in time."

Her eyes fell, and she smiled sadly.

"The worst part is that in the end, I couldn't even get you anything."

Ichigo remained silent, unable to respond in any shape or form. For the longest time, he had thought that he knew the reason why she didn't return to the real world, but after hearing her words, he realized that he was only partly right.

'This isn't her world, so there isn't any reason for her to be here. Christmas probably doesn't even mean anything to her. All of that was true.' He thought. 'The only thing I was wrong about…'

He smiled lightly. '… was myself.'

"Idiot." Ichigo whispered to himself.

"Hm?" Rukia asked.

"Nothing." He replied as he shook his head.

Before she could even react, he took back the present that she held between her hands. She looked at him with surprise.

"Well, since you couldn't get me a present, I guess I'll be taking mine back." Ichigo said casually as he rose back up onto his feet.

"Hey - wait!" Rukia yelled indignantly as she got up. Her arms flailed humorously as she tried to take her present back from him, but Ichigo held it out of her reach with relative ease. "That's not how this is supposed to work! You can't just take back Christmas gifts!"

"It's only Christmas Eve, so that means you can't have this until tomorrow anyways." Ichigo said off-handedly. He looked away blankly as Rukia continued to glare at him. "If you really want it, I guess you'll just have to stick around until then. Even then, I don't know if I should give this to you when you don't have one for me."

"Ichigo!" Rukia yelled angrily, fuming as he continued to taunt her.

"I'm just joking." Ichigo replied with a grin, getting a small 'hmph' from her in return. He glanced softly at the present in his hand. "I just wanted to give this to you properly, that's all."

Rukia's eyes lit up as he held it back out to her with a light smile. "Merry Christmas, Rukia."

She tentatively took hold of the present between her hands and she stared down at it tenderly for a few moments. Raising her eyes to meet his once more, she returned the smile he had given her.

"Merry Christmas, Ichigo."

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><p>.<p>

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_~Fin~_

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